Arsenal take Viviano on loan

02 September 2013 08:46

Palermo have confirmed that goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano has signed a season-long loan deal with Arsenal, with the Gunners having the option to make the deal permanent.

The 27-year-old Italy international becomes Arsene Wenger's third signing of the summer and will compete with Wojciech Szczesny to be the Frenchman's first-choice stopper for the remainder of the campaign.

Wenger is believed to have had a long-standing interest in Viviano as he looks to create competition in between the posts for Arsenal, with Lukasz Fabianski also available as an option.

Serie B club Palermo announced the deal with a short statement on their official website which read: "Goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano has been released to Arsenal on loan with the option to buy."

A product of the Brescia youth system, Viviano went on to play for the club for five years before signing Bologna, with Inter Milan purchasing 50 per cent of his registration before the move.

He went on to spend a season at the San Siro but a knee injury curtailed his first-team opportunities in Milan with a move to Palermo completed in 2012.

The club were relegated to Serie B last season but Viviano spent the campaign on loan at Fiorentina, who finished fourth in Serie A.

Wenger has already added the free transfer signings of forward Yaya Sanogo and the returning Mathieu Flamini and has now strengthened another key position at the Emirates Stadium.